If you’re a fan of fuzzy flowers, you’ll love powder puff tree as well. This wonderful tree will steal your garden in no time. Caring for this tree is very simple. If you want a non-messy tree for your garden, this one is your choice.
Warm months are ideal for planting this attractive tree, so why not learn all about it? Today you’ll learn how to prune its lower branches to reduce the size and how to encourage new growth.
If you lack vibrant plants in your yard, this one will surprise you with its pink and red flowers. Once they bloom in the spring, you’ll be so thankful for their blooms.
They make a great patio tree, they don’t have many pests, and the foliage is gorgeous, what else to ask for? A young plant is even more beautiful than the mature one, so you’ll enjoy every phase of this plant.
Let’s learn how to keep these shrubs healthy and how to properly take care of them.
About A Powder Puff Tree
Below we bring you the characteristics of your new favorite small tree. Powder puffs are a great yard tree for people who live in regions of South Florida, California, and USDA hardiness zone 10 in general. These USDA hardiness zones are perfect for growing these trees.
- Native habitat: Northern South America
- Botanic name: Calliandra inaequilatera
- Common name: Calliandra, Mimosa, Tillandsia
- Family: Fabaceae
- Subfamily: Leguminosae
- Growth type: moderate growing ratio
- Wildlife: butterflies, hummingbirds
- Flowering time: early summer, spring
- Flowers: pink and red fuzzy flowers
- Leaf shape: bipinnate with one pair of pinnae
- Use: as a hedge tree
- How and where to grow: drought tolerant soil, slightly alkaline, can’t stand freezing temperatures, full sun, shade in the afternoon, they hate frost
Is A Powder Puff Tree The Same As A Mimosa Tree?
Even though they look similar very similar, the tickle me plant, the mimosa tree and powder puff trees aren’t the same tree.
The main obvious difference between these trees is the shape of their leaves. They also come from different tree species.
How Do You Take Care Of A Powder Puff Plant?
The powderpuff tree doesn’t stand cold temperatures well. They enjoy the heat, moisture, sand soil, and full sun position. Too much water can destroy their roots so be careful when watering.
They aren’t known for pests and diseases. It’s easiest to grow them from seed propagation. Once you provide the with good care, they’ll reward you with a tall dazzling appearance.
Care Guide For A Powderpuff Tree
As we have already stated, caring for this tree is very simple. You can devote 5 to 10 minutes to it a day, and the tree will thank you very much.
If you don’t have much time in the day, and you want a beautiful tree in the garden, this is the tree for you. Let’s read more about it below.
Light Needs/Location
To successfully grow this ancient tree, plant it in a sunny location in the garden. With a minimum of 5 hours of sun and shade in the afternoon, the tree will grow in full glory.
It suits sunny locations much more than shadows.
However, full sun is not good for this tree, so avoid a completely cold location, for example behind the house, etc. If you start growing indoors, a south or east window is excellent.
Watering Schedule
The powder puff tree is an undemanding tree when it comes to water. It can withstand drought for up to 10-12 days. If you go on vacation and forget to hire a neighbor to water, don’t worry.
The plant will be in the same condition as you left it. It is better to water it with distilled water for the best growth. However, any other type of water will do no harm.
Soil Type
This type of tree grows best in sandy soil. Do not experiment with other types of soil because they have not shown success. For the tree to grow at its best, stick to sandy soil that you will water every 7-8 days.
It certainly retains moisture very well, so it will provide the plant with a lot of water that it needs. Rarely it can grow well in perlite soils.
Fertilizer
The best fertilizer choices for powder puff wood are 15-15-15 or 7-9-5 fertilizers. As with soil, we do not propose deviations for fertilizer either.
Not all fertilizers give good results, so don’t expect success from a fertilizer that is for all other plants in your garden.
Humidity
This type of wood likes moderate humidity, which is 60%. A humidity of 40% or less can still do damage.
Of course, I’m sure you already know that this tree is not suitable for growing in all regions because it is a tree for warm regions.
Wildlife
The most common pollinators of this plant are butterflies and hummingbirds.
They are the ones that will certainly scatter seeds in your garden in the spring and may cause new seedlings to appear unplanned.
Besides, it must be a beautiful sight to see birds and butterflies on the tree in your garden, isn’t it?
Pruning
Trimming is very easy. Do this as follows:
- do it in the spring after the flowering period,
- carefully remove the damaged edges with sharp scissors,
- if the plant gets pests, which is very, very rare, cut off the yellowed edges,
- you can prune the plant in early autumn, but never in winter,
- cut at a 45-degree angle,
- do not cut healthy tops or twigs.
Propagation
Propagation of this plant is best done by cuttings. Although they are also propagated by seeds using pollinators, cuttings are much more efficient.
Take a cutting from a mature plant after 3 or 4 years of flowering because that’s when they reach their maturity.
Never transplant young plants. When you prune the cuttings, perform the ritual as if you were planting a new plant for the first time. Use the same soil, the same fertilizer, and the same method of drainage.
The only difference is the location. It should be in the sun all the time for several weeks until it shows signs of growth, i.e. progress.
FAQs On Powder Puff Plant
Let’s learn a few more things about a powder puff tree below.
Is Powder Puff Tree Invasive?
The powderpuff tree isn’t an invasive tree. The Mimosa tree that this tree is often compared to is an invasive species.
Does A Powder Puff Plant Attract Wildlife?
Powderpuff trees attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and bumblebees.
Can Powder Puff Trees Stand Cold Temperatures?
The powderpuff tree does not tolerate cold temperatures at all. A little frost and low temperatures can be fatal for your tree.
Wrapping Up About The Powder Puff Tree
I know how you feel, the longer you look at the photos, the more you want to get this powder puff tree. How did you like today’s article? Did you enjoy the care guide for this plant?
Pretty simple isn’t it? You don’t have to worry about doing something wrong. With a few plant care items, you can take care of it for at least 5 minutes every day.
For every 5 minutes you invest, the plant will thank you. We hope that you will get it and that it will bloom with pink and red flowers in your garden in the spring.
That would be all for today, see you tomorrow with similar topics.